I've been craving live music for a while. I love going to concerts. A few months ago Billy Joel was at AT&T Park, which is only 3 blocks away from our new apartment. We didn't have tickets, but we went out to a small park across the street and listened for about 45 minutes. We could even catch a few glimpses of the screen inside the stadium. That was really cool, but that made me want to go to a concert even more.
We finally went to a small venue in Berkeley to see Suzanne Vega on Thursday night. With less than 250 seats at the Freight and Salvage, there are no bad seats. We went for the 1st time last year to see Paula Cole and had front row seats. This year we chose to sit in the very back row, just left of center (which is a Suzanne Vega song) and still had a wonderful view.
Metallica is coming to AT&T Park in February and we were talking about going to see them, too. That'd be a different venue from Suzanne Vega, wouldn't it?!?
We had to turn the clocks back last night, which means it's dark by 5:30ish.
Not a fan.
But one good thing is that, even though there's less daylight, time feels like it's going a lot slower.
Because at 6pm, you're saying to yourself "OMG. It feels like midnight, how is it only 6pm? Well, I guess I still have 5+ hours to get stuff done instead of going to bed right now...even though I really want to."
On another note...
Totally into this song by David Bowie right now. Can't get it out of my head.
Last February I didn't blog the whole month. I almost let that happen again this February, but it's the 11th hour, and I've decided to stop the no-blogging madness.
There's no way to stick to a theme for this post since I haven't blogged in a while. So here's a random mish-mash of February 2015...
We were in Southern California for a few days... I finally got to meet my grand niece! She's 14 months old. My niece drove over an hour just to have lunch with me and my SIL. Also got to see the nephews for a brief moment. And spent an evening and the next morning with my BFF and her kiddos.
Jimmy had to work. He was recruiting at his alma mater. I went to college 15 minutes from here, at Cal Poly Pomona. So I spent a lot of time here, too.
We were staying in Pomona at the fairgrounds. Here's a pic I shared on Instagram for Throw Back Thursday the week we were there. Jimmy was really into car races back then. We went to the Winter Nationals in 1988 at the fairgrounds. It's hard to tell, but we're posing in front of the Grand National, not the moving truck. It was Jimmy's favorite car back then. I used to love the Saab 900 Turbo. Random.
Also shared this gem from 1987... Our 1st selfie before 'selfie' was a common term.
We were there Valentine's Weekend... We treated ourselves to the best fish tacos in California...at a little hole in the wall in Pomona. Two nights in a row. We lamented that Jimmy didn't like Mexican food in college. I remember hounding him for Mexican food all the time but his version of Mexican food didn't extend beyond Del Taco. Now it's probably our favorite style of grub.
Before leaving Southern California, we stopped at another favorite, Bob's Big Boy.
There's a whole hockey store down there that sells just goalie equipment. Not even regular hockey skater gear, just goalie! It's huge and Jimmy's version of my craft store. Couldn't resist a snapshot of these King-kong sized goalie pads.
Back home... Jimmy actually went to work this way one day last week. The day before, he won a bottle of "Gorilla Snot Hair Gel" and was told to come into work with spiky hair the next day. One of their mottos is to "Be Unboring". Nailed it.
Apparently you're suppose to change the strings on your guitar every 3-6 months. Who knew?? The strings on my guitar were over 5 years old, but only used consistently for the last year or so. But they were due for a change. I was nervous changing them, but I did it all on my own. My guitar has never sounded better and motivates me to play even more.
Today's Christmas Tree of the Day wasn't as easy to find as I thought it would be. I went to my closest park, but no decorated trees. I thought surely there must be a tree in Target. But I was denied there, too. Maybe the theatre? Nope. Well, I knew there'd be a few at SF Centre across the street, so I ended up there. These were at Nordstrom. The bonus is I walked almost 2 miles to get this snapshot.
I put the ornaments on our tree this evening. It's been up since Sunday, but naked till tonight.
I'm still obsessed with listen to music. Ed Sheeran and Hozier are my current obsessions.
"Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran is a beautiful ballad about the timelessness of love.
"Take Me To Church" by Hozier is not lighthearted. It's very metaphorical, comparing love and religion, sexuality and humanity. His voice is aching and hauntingly soulful.
Warning: the video is hard to watch. Spoiler alert if you haven't seen this already (36 million already have): there isn't a happy ending.
-More than ever, I'm grateful for the power of music. It has surprised me how much learning an instrument seriously broadens your music awareness. I never listened to blues or jazz before, but it's become a part of my training and I love it. I listen to all different kinds of music all day. And I cannot have silence while I'm at my desk, I must have some kind of tune playing in the background.
A soundtrack can make or break a movie or tv show. Jimmy and I are watching the HBO show Treme and it might be the best show I've watched all year. It's about New Orleans right after Katrina hit. And music is a huge part of it. Just thinking about one of the songs nearly brings me to tears. But most of it has both of us tapping our toes...you can't keep still while watching it. Music is a powerful thing.
-Like all of us, I love water. I'm glad that we have clean drinking water, water to take a refreshing shower, water to wash our clothes and dishes. I love the Pacific Ocean, feeling the cool water beneath my feet and waves hitting my knees. I love being a the lake in the summer, swimming, boating, laughing, being with friends and family. I love the rain. The sound of it, the smell of it. Hopefully this fall and winter will bring a lot more of it.
-Fresh linens. Another favorite for everyone - a fresh fluffy (but not tooo fluffy) towel...and in the wintertime, if you happen to get one right out of the dryer as you're getting out of the shower...heaven! And slipping into clean sheets at bedtime when you're tired and ready for dreamland...sigh!
Here's a beautiful song that I just heard for the first time last weekend. I listen to it differently now than I would have pre-guitar learning.
Jimmy and I watched Her, the movie this soundtrack was in. It's an odd love story. I was reluctant to watch it because I knew it would be depressing, but I'm glad I did.
Not entirely sure how I feel putting this out there. I've been practicing and playing for 6 months. Feeling very insecure about it, but feeling like I'm making some improvements. Still completely obsessed. Sometimes I wonder why I wasted 30+ years not playing. Wishing I were more musical and wishing this came easier. It's so very not intuitive for me. It's a struggle, every moment of it. Some parts are much harder for me to grasp than others, but all of it is tough. But I love learning. I love hearing music differently. I love listening to different music than I ever did before.
This is Pearl Jam's "Last Kiss". A sad song, but nice to play. It's easy to 'feel'.
I'm struggling with my strumming more than I do with chord changes. I can't seem to keep my strumming consistent. Even though it's still very rough, I can see slow improvements. I'm pretty passionate about this right now. Passionate enough to keep working through the tough parts. Yup, video is flipped. Don't know how to flip it back.
Saying goodbye to the 3rd month of 2014...how quickly it flew by! Here are a few snapshots of my March... Gandhi Statue at the Ferry Building.
Taxi and bike turning onto Market Street.
My brother-in-law works here.
Sunset on March 15th. Too cold for me to dip my toes in. Jimmy's braver than me.
Same day as above, only about an hour before. The fog lifted just in time for sunset.
A different day, the setting sun glowing on Alcatraz.
That apartment building fire was the opposite side of the ballpark from us but we could see the black smoke from our living room window. We drove by the devastation one Saturday afternoon.
Today, the last day of the month. Cold, windy, stormy. Raining sideways, umbrellas barely made a difference.
Paula Cole was in Berkeley on the 27th and we saw her at an awesome venue called Freight and Salvage. We had front row seats. No photos allowed during the performance, but I got one of her afterwards signing cd's.
Practicing barre chords. They are hard but I love them for some reason. I think because they are challenging. Although every part of learning the guitar is challenging. And rewarding. And that half gold dinosaur makes me laugh. Who would buy that??
Yes guitar is taking up most of my creative energy right now. But I still managed to do a decent bit of paper crafting too.
Our drive to the hideaway was gorgeous last weekend. A beautiful sunny spring day where our normally golden brown hills were fresh green.
California poppies.
A new friend...shy at first...
but as curious about us as we were about her.
Then just a day and a half later, we had just a little bit of snow on the ground.
"The March wind roars
Like a lion in the sky,
And makes us shiver
As he passes by.
When winds are soft,
And the days are warm and clear,
Just like a gentle lamb,
Then spring is here."
- Author Unknown
A couple of weeks ago, I started taking guitar lessons. I'm extremely excited about it and have been practicing so much my fingers bled. That's not really true, but they hurt. A lot. I can understand why they say that. But it's so worth it. It's so hard. The hardest thing I've tried to learn since college. I don't have dreams of taking the stage with my favorite rock band, but I'd love to pull out the guitar while everyone gathered around the campfire roasting marshmallows and be able to break out a little Kumbaya.
Boo! Are you scared? I am, but because it's already the end of the month. October flew by! I'm sure it did for just about everyone else out there, amiright?
Well, since I only had 1 post this month, I'll do a quick rewind on my most memorable events this month... I met Barbie Doll in 1994 when I worked at the mall selling rubber stamps. She moved near Tahoe a few years later, but even after almost 20 years, we still keep in touch even though the miles separate us. She came to SF with her daughter and grandkids for a quick day trip. They were suppose to go to Alcatraz, but it was the 1st day of the Government shutdown. But San Francisco has a gazillion other things to do, so they we not deterred.
The following weekend, we spent an afternoon w/ our besties the Bowens. Miss A had a concert in the park...
and Prince W had a soccer game. He even got to play goalie. Jimmy, who is an ice hockey goalie, was pretty impressed!
A few days later, Niece Nikki, who is a high school senior, drove up with her best friend to shadow Jimmy at work. They had a school project where they had to follow someone at a job they were interested in pursuing.
And just this weekend, I drove down to Southern California with my MIL and SIL to celebrate the upcoming arrival of my grand-niece! Two of my other sister-in-laws were there to celebrate, too. Love these little family reunions, especially when we're celebrating such special moments.
And of course, I did a lot of crafting this month.
I couldn't resist creating this silly little card. You have seen the video this is referencing, haven't you? If not, please enjoy yourself and watch below.
Last week, an old friend from high school came up for a concert. She came a day early and stayed an extra day so could reconnect and I could show off this beautiful city that I live in.
Christa and I were in Tall Flags, a part of the drill team unit of our high school band. The summer between my junior and senior years, Christa and I went to tall flags camp with 5 other girls. Christa is standing to my left, holding the flag.
When she left the desert that afternoon, it was 110 degrees. Later that night, when we were at Fisherman's Wharf, it was a very chilly 48 degrees. Good thing I warned her to bring a jacket or sweatshirt!
The next day, we took a ferry to Sausalito. I thought it was a great way to be out on the bay, see the City, Golden Gate Bridge, cruise by Alcatraz and do some window shopping in a quaint town just north of San Francisco.
But it was a typical foggy summer day and the city was just barely peeking out. The Golden Gate Bridge was completely socked in and Christa had to take my word that it really was there.
We spent a few hours in picturesque Sausalito. The fog mostly stayed on the other side of the hill, so it was a very comfortable sunny but cool afternoon.
That night we went to see Howard Jones at a small nightclub a few blocks from where I live. He sang all the songs from 2 of his oldest albums, which came out when we were in high school. It was a great performance but we both agreed that we're getting too old to stand in one spot for a whole concert, 3 1/2 hours. And even though it was barely 50 degrees outside, it had to have been 90 degrees in that small club with 1000 other people.
The next morning, we had plans to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and back. She finally got to see the bridge, this time up close and personal! Though it was still very foggy!
She left her heart in San Francisco.
This photo cracks me up. A group of teenage boys all huddled in their hoodies walking across the bridge. Yes, it was as cold as they look!
Half way across the bridge. If you look very closely at the background, that little tilted island is Alcatraz.
One last tourist stop, the Painted Ladies at Alamo Square. The sun may have been shrouded by the fog, but it was still bright enough to make us squint! But nothing was gonna stop us from having fun!
We finally went to a small venue in Berkeley to see Suzanne Vega on Thursday night. With less than 250 seats at the Freight and Salvage, there are no bad seats. We went for the 1st time last year to see Paula Cole and had front row seats. This year we chose to sit in the very back row, just left of center (which is a Suzanne Vega song) and still had a wonderful view.
